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The Queen Geek Social Club

The Queen Geek Social Club by Laura Preble

Release Date: September 5, 2006
Publisher: Berkley Trade, Penguin Group (USA), Berkley Jam
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 336

I have recently acquired a copy of Prom Queen Geeks by Laura Preble, which is available as of September 2nd. I really hate to read a series out of order, although I will do it every once in awhile. But I’d been interested in reading this entire series before I received the aforementioned book, so I thought I would start from the beginning. Here is a summary of The Queen Geek Social Club from the back of the book.

I’ll be the first to admit it– I’m a geek.

Shelby Chapelle is a happy being a geek army of one... Here’s the thing about friends: You can’t just put a poster up at school and advertise for them. You’d just look pathetic and desperate. And if you’re somebody like me– smart, witty, pretty, charming, humble– it’s even more challenging to find that special someone who becomes your Best Friend.

Until the new girl moves in... But no freakishly tall Becca Gallagher has moved to town from L.A., with her dragon tattoo and wild ideas. (Suddenly my mad-scientist father and our robot, Euphoria, seem normal.) We become best friends instantly. But Becca wants to shake things up at school and look for “others of our kind,” so wer’re starting the Queen Geek Social Club.

And a jock in geek’s clothing threatens to crash the party... The thing is, this guy, Fletcher Berkowitz, keeps nosing around, asking lots of questions about the Queen Geek Social Club. He’s cute and interesting, and I think he likes me. Therefore, I must torture him. One good thing about being a loner: No one can break your heart...

I find myself at an impasse with this book. While I don’t necessarily love it, there were certainly elements of the story that I did enjoy. There wasn’t anything in this novel that grabbed me. I never had that “moment” where it was no longer a choice if I should continue reading, but that I must! But that’s not to say that I didn’t completely enjoy reading this novel. The characters were a toss up for me as well. I didn’t particular like any of them besides Euphoria. Shelby and Becca seemed... what’s the word I’m looking for here... sporadic, perhaps perplexing. Ugh, needless to say they aren’t my all time favorite literary characters. Euphoria, however, was the most human character in the novel and she is only a robot!

The plot was semi interesting. I guess, that maybe, I just didn’t get the whole Queen Geek Social Club. I mean sure it’s possible, but is it probable? Not saying that something has to be probable to make a story work, but something about it just didn’t settle with me. The pace of the story seemed slow, hence never having that “moment” of an attention grabbing epiphany.

Overall, while there were obviously things that I found lackluster in this novel, it was a satisfying read. I will continue to read the series, it has snagged my attention at least that much. And perhaps the series will get better as it continues as so many do.